Aktuelle Trends: Wirtschaftswachstum und sinkende CO2-Emissionen schließen sich nicht aus
Reint E. Gropp
Wirtschaft im Wandel,
No. 1,
2023
Abstract
Erneuerbare Energiequellen und energiesparender technischer Fortschritt ermöglichen es, den CO2-Ausstoß einer Volkswirtschaft bei steigendem Bruttoinlandsprodukt zu senken. Um die Klimaziele zu erreichen, müssen diese Anstrengungen aber noch deutlich verstärkt werden
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Kommentar: Subventionen für Halbleiter?
Reint E. Gropp
Wirtschaft im Wandel,
No. 1,
2023
Abstract
Mit dem „European Chips Act“ will die EU mehr als 40 Mrd. Euro ausgeben, um bei systemwichtigen Technologien unabhängiger von China zu werden und im Subventionswettlauf mit den USA nicht zurückzufallen. Doch sowohl das geostrategische Argument als auch die Effizienz und Nachhaltigkeit der Subventionen sind fragwürdig.
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Capital Markets Union: Database of Directives and Regulations
Moritz Emlein, Eleonora Sfrappini, Lena Tonzer, Cristina Zgherea
IWH Technical Reports,
No. 2,
2022
Abstract
In 2015, the European Commission adopted the Capital Markets Union (CMU) action plan. The plan aims to deepen financial integration and harmonize international standards for investments within the European Union (EU) and it outlines several actions to be implemented in order to address twelve key priority areas. We assemble a database of the legislative acts that implement the CMU. The dataset includes a list of directives and regulations at the EU level with information on publication, entry into force, and transposition dates as well as brief descriptions. This information might be useful in empirical analyses assessing the effectiveness of components of the CMU.
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Crowdsourced Innovation: How Community Managers Affect Crowd Activities
Sabrina Jeworrek, Lars Hornuf
Abstract
In this study, we investigate whether and to what extent community managers in online collaborative communities can stimulate crowd activities through their engagement. Using a novel data set of 22 large online idea crowdsourcing campaigns, we find that active engagement of community managers positively affects crowd activities in an inverted U-shaped manner. Moreover, we evidence that intellectual stimulation by managers increases community participation, while individual consideration of users has no impact on user activities. Finally, the data reveal that community manager activities that require more effort, such as media file uploads instead of simple written comments, have a larger effect on crowd participation.
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Banking Reform, Risk-Taking, and Accounting Quality: Evidence from Post-Soviet Transition States
Yiwei Fang, Wassim Dbouk, Iftekhar Hasan, Lingxiang Li
Journal of International Accounting Research,
No. 1,
2022
Abstract
The drastic banking reform within Central and Eastern Europe following the collapse of the Soviet Union provides an ideal quasi-experimental design to examine the causal effects of institutional development on accounting quality (AQ). We find that banking reform spurs significant improvement in predictive power of earnings and reductions in earnings smoothing, earnings-inflating discretionary provisions, and avoidance of reporting losses. These effects hold under alternative model specifications and after considering concurrent institutional developments. In contrast, corporate reform shows no such effects, refuting the alternative explanation that unobserved factors affect both reform speed in general and the quality of financial reporting. We further identify four specific reformative actions that are integral to the drastic banking reform process where prudential regulation contributes the most to the observed AQ improvement. It supports the conjecture that banking reform improves AQ by reducing banks' risk-taking behaviors and, as a result, their motive behind accounting manipulation.
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Social Capital and Regional Innovation: Evidence from Private Firms in the US
Iftekhar Hasan, Nada Kobeissi, Bo Wang, Haizhi Wang, Desheng Yin
Regional Studies,
No. 1,
2023
Abstract
In this study we investigate whether and to what extent social capital may affect regional innovation by focusing on private firms in the United States. We document that regional social capital is positively associated with the quantity, quality and novelty of county-level innovation by private firms. In addition, we find that the positive relation between social capital and regional innovation is more prominent in counties with a lower supply of financial capital. We also report that social capital is complementary to investments in research and development to produce inventive outcomes in local areas. Using a spatial Durbin model, we provide evidence that regional social capital has significant spillover effects in boosting the innovation activities of neighbouring counties.
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Energy Crisis: Inflation, Recession, Welfare Loss
Oliver Holtemöller, Stefan Kooths, Torsten Schmidt, Timo Wollmershäuser
Wirtschaftsdienst,
No. 10,
2022
Abstract
Die deutsche Wirtschaft wird von der krisenhaften Zuspitzung auf den Gasmärkten schwer belastet. Die hochgeschnellten Gaspreise erhöhen die Energiekosten drastisch und gehen mit einem massiven gesamtwirtschaftlichen Kaufkraftentzug einher. Dies dämpft nicht nur die noch unvollständige Erholung von der Coronakrise, sondern drückt die deutsche Wirtschaft in die Rezession. Dabei kommen die Institute für den kommenden Winter zu dem Ergebnis, dass bei normalen Witterungsbedingungen keine Gasmangellage eintritt. Dennoch bleibt die Versorgungslage äußerst angespannt. Vor diesem Hintergrund dürfte die Wirtschaftsleistung im dritten Quartal bereits leicht gesunken sein. Im Winterhalbjahr ist aufgrund der steigenden Kosten für Energie, der nachlassenden Konsumnachfrage und der schwächelnden Weltwirtschaft mit einem deutlichen Rückgang zu rechnen.
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Agency Cost of CEO Perquisites in Bank Loan Contracts
Chia-Ying Chan, Iftekhar Hasan, Chih-Yung Lin
Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting,
May
2021
Abstract
This study investigates the association between CEO perquisites and bank loan spreads. We collect detailed data on CEO perquisites from the proxy statements of S&P 500 firms between 1993 and 2015 to study this issue. The empirical evidence supports the agency cost view that the lending banks demand significantly higher returns (spread), more collateral, and stricter covenants from firms with higher CEO perquisites. We further confirm that the effect of these perquisites remains after we control for various corporate governance and agency cost factors. We conclude that banks consider CEO perquisites as a type of agency cost when they make lending decisions.
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Do Affiliated Bankers on Board Enhance Corporate Social Responsibility? US Evidence
Iftekhar Hasan, Hui Li, Haizhi Wang, Yun Zhu
Sustainability,
No. 6,
2021
Abstract
In this study, we examine whether and to what extent affiliated bankers on board may affect firms’ corporate social performance. Using a propensity score-matched sample from 2002 to 2016, we find that board directors from affiliated banks exert significantly positive influence on firms’ corporate social performance. Furthermore, board of directors from affiliated banks are negatively associated with firm investments in corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities when firms experience financial distress. Finally, we find that the effect of affiliated bankers on board on firms’ CSR performance depends on the affiliated banks’ CSR orientation, as affiliated banker directors from banks with higher CSR orientation have a stronger influence on firms’ investments in CSR activities. The results suggest that improving firm’s CSR performance is consistent with the affiliated banks’ interests.
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Firm-specific Forecast Errors and Asymmetric Investment Propensity
Manuel Buchholz, Lena Tonzer, Julian Berner
Economic Inquiry,
No. 2,
2022
Abstract
This paper analyzes how firm-specific forecast errors derived from survey data of German manufacturing firms over 2007–2011 relate to firms' investment propensity. Our findings reveal that asymmetries arise depending on the size and direction of the forecast error. The investment propensity declines if the realized situation is worse than expected. However, firms do not adjust investment if the realized situation is better than expected suggesting that the uncertainty component of the forecast error counteracts good surprises of unexpectedly favorable business conditions. This asymmetric mechanism can be one explanation behind slow recovery following crises.
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